Jess Blumberg's picture
June, 28th 2011

Red Line passes another hurdle

The MTA's proposed Red Line can move into its next phase after gaining approval from the Federal Transit Administration. The new phase is called preliminary engineering, or PE, which would turn the concept into actual planning.

The planning is estimated to be a two-year, $2.2 billion (with inflation) project that results in a 14.5 mile light rail spanning the city from Woodlawn to Bayview.

This only further stirs up conversation about the controversial Red Line, which some residents in Canton and West Baltimore have specifically advocated against—particularly because the tracks would be above ground along Boston Street and Edmonson Avenue. But, supporters say the line will relieve traffic congestion and provided a much-needed option for east-west transit.

Some sample tweets from today:

"I will personally fist fight anyone who opposes the Red Line and pummel them into support. #...

Evan Serpick's picture
June, 27th 2011

Second Dolphin Calf Dies at Aquarium

Last week, we reported that one of the two dolphin calves recently born at the National Aquarium was found dead. On Saturday night, the other calf died as well, leaving caretakers at the Aquarium devastated, as The Sun reports today.

Aquarium officials are baffled by the death and have sent the calves' bodies to Johns Hopkins for a necropsy—the animal equivalent of an autopsy.

In his Baltimore magazine story last year, John Lewis chronicled the death of another calf at the Aquarium and how it affected the staff. 

2:45 pm Comment Count Tags: Aquarium
Evan Serpick's picture
June, 27th 2011

O's Get No Respect!

Have you checked out the all-star game voting lately?

I wasn't surprised to see that there were no Orioles leading in any position, but I was really disappointed to see that no O's were even among the top five vote-getters in any position. Perhaps most distressing, Adam Jones (pictured), who is batting .293—6th best of all American League outfielders—is not among the top 15 vote-getters in outfielder balloting (Nick Markakis, tied for 9th with a batting average of .277—and an active, 16-game hitting streak—also doesn't make the top-15). Matt Wieters, who is batting .267, fourth best among AL catchers, and is possibly the best fielding catcher in the league, throwing out an incredible percentage of potential base-stealers, doesn't make the top-five vote-getters at that position. Shortstop J.J. Hardy, batting .304—only four percentage points behind league leader Jhonny Peralta—also doesn't...

11:15 am Comment Count Tags: orioles, sports
Evan Serpick's picture
June, 23rd 2011

U2 Rock Mary-Land

In case you you haven't heard, last night, Bono and the boys brought their massive "360" tour to M&T Bank Stadium and put on a fairly epic show, playing many of their biggest hits and unleashing the massive "claw" stage set (pictured).

The claw allowed the show to take place on the field (instead of in one end of the stadium, as most arena or stadium shows do), with fans watching from all angles. The claw was certainly as gargantuan as advertised, and the cylindrical video screen, which broke into separate small pieces and extended to the stage like a giant piece of mesh during part of the set, was cool. I do have to say that after hearing about the greatness of this stage show for the last couple of years, I expected a few more bells and whistles. But still, pretty cool.

When Bono finally spoke to the audience, he said it was great to be here in "Mary-Land," which kinda annoyed me, both because he didn't mention Baltimore—count me among the many Baltimoreans who have a chip on our shoulders about the lack of respect given our city...

John Lewis's picture
June, 23rd 2011

Baby Dolphin Dies at Aquarium

One of the two dolphin calves recently born at the National Aquarium has died. The mortality rate of dolphins born in captivity is pretty high (33%), and you might recall that the Aquarium lost another baby dolphin last year. That death figured into a story I wrote about the Aquarium last May, which you can read here. Hopefully, an autopsy will determine the cause of death, and Aquarium officials can get to the bottom of this.

11:28 am Comment Count Tags: Aquarium
Max Weiss's picture
June, 22nd 2011

Give Pizza a Chance

Our short civic nightmare is over.

As i reported just last week, Hampden mainstay Angelo's Pizza had closed.

Anyway, driving home from work tonight, I noticed that there was some activity in Angelo's window. Pizza-eating activity. So I called, expecting the phone number to be disconnected.

"Angelo's Pizza," a guy answered cheerfully.

"Wait? Are you open again?" I asked. (Mike Wallace, eat your heart out.)

"Yes, since Friday," the guys said, adding. "It's our own personal miracle."

So there you have it, pizza fans. Sad pizza is a thing of a past. Happy pizza is the way of the land.

More details as we, er, drive past them.

6:30 pm Comment Count Tags: pizza
Evan Serpick's picture
June, 22nd 2011

Jeff Mangum Tickets Draw Hipster Mob

When word came out two days ago that Jeff Mangum, the reclusive lead singer of '90s rock band Neutral Milk Hotel, would play two shows at 2640, the performance space operated by Red Emma's Bookstore Cafe, it was like a bat signal to the hipster world.

Tickets went on sale at noon today both on-line and at Red Emma's, where a crowd had gathered before 7 a.m. to queue for tickets. Those standing in a line that snaked through Red Emma's aisles and out onto St. Paul St. (top) had come from as far away as Detroit and Philadelphia. Tickets were selling for $27, a great price for such a rare show, especially considering that tickets for Mangum's Boston show are going for $5,600 on eBay.

It's not surprising, given Mangum's thought-provoking, smart music, that the crowd at Red Emma's this morning was eminently friendly, with hopeful ticket-buyers passing the time reading the thousands of books within arm's reach (bottom) or chatting with the line neighbors.

...

2:09 pm Comment Count Tags: Arts
Evan Serpick's picture
June, 21st 2011

Newsweek's Best High Schools Rankings

Newsweek's rankings of "America's Best High Schools" came out today. It ranks the top 500 schools, based on six components: "graduation rate (25%), college matriculation rate (25%), AP tests taken per graduate (25%), average SAT/ACT scores (10%), average AP/IB/AICE scores (10%), and AP courses offered (5%)."

I've always been a little dubious of statistics-based rankings like these because, in my experience, since they don't take into account various other factors, like the quality of the leadership, administration, and teachers, the learning environment, the extracurriculars, etc., they rarely seem to jibe with the reality of schools I'm familiar with.

In any case, Baltimore didn't fare great. The only Baltimore City school to make the list was Baltimore City College, in at number 442. Baltimore County had seven schools on the list: Eastern Tech (131), Hereford (219), Carver Center for Arts and Technology (232),...

6:08 pm Comment Count Tags: Education
Suzanne Loudermilk's picture
June, 21st 2011

From "Lost" to "Hawaii Five-0"

terry o'quinnTimonium resident Terry O'Quinn, who played the elusive John Locke on ABC's "Lost," can't stay away from the island—of Hawaii, that is.

O'Quinn—featured in a Baltimore magazine profile in May 2010—will play a Navy Seal lieutenant commander in a recurring role on CBS's "Hawaii Five-O," according to tvline.com.

The role will reunite him with Daniel Dae Kim, who played the character Jin on "Lost" and now plays Chin Ho Kelly on "Hawaii Five-O." The show is shot in Oahu, Hawaii.

While O'Quinn and his wife, Lori, a Reisterstown native, also have a house in Hawaii, their ties to our state are strong. "We're always going to be connected to Maryland," O'Quinn said in the magazine story. "I've adopted Maryland as my home."

We just have to share him. 

Photo of Terry O’Quinn playing John Locke on “Lost,”...

4:24 pm Comment Count Tags: TV news
Jess Blumberg's picture
June, 21st 2011

Our Model Wins Miss USA!

A familiar face took the crown at Sunday night's Miss USA pageant in Las Vegas. Alyssa Campanella, a New Jersey native who now lives in Los Angeles, was the model for our Spring Fashion shoot last year. Last spring, Campanella posed in beautiful sets built by Hampden's Red Tree (now Trohv) for our Alice in Wonderland-themed fashion shoot.

On Sunday, she answered tough questions, like whether marijuana should be legalized (yes, for medical reasons) and if evolution should be taught in schools (yes, she said, calling herself a "science geek.") Eventually, Campanella took home the ultimate prize. In September, she will compete in the Miss Universe pageant in Brazil.

What can I say? We have good taste....

10:16 am Comment Count Tags: beauty, fashion
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